Grendel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The name Grendel came to England with the ancestors of the Grendel family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Grendel family lived in either Greendale, Devon or Grindale in the East Riding of Yorkshire. 1 Of the last entry, we do know that this parish dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was first listed as Grendele. 2 Literally the place name means "green valley," 3 or "residence in a green valley." 4

"The village is neatly built; the township comprises 2268 acres, including 1047 common or waste land inclosed in 1843. " 5

Turning the clock back a bit further, we found this interesting entry for the family and their origin: "Edmond Grindale, Archbishop of Canterbury, was son of William Grindale, who settled, on the dissolution of the Monasteries, near St. Bees. There were others of the name in London, Hunts, and especially in York, where Grindale or Grendale, afterwards Handale, was situated. This place belonged to a branch of the Percys. Richard de Percy was younger son of William I. de Percy, and brother of Alan de Percy. He obtained from his father Dunsley, Lofthouse (in which Grendale was situated) and other estates. he had, 1. Ralph de Grendale, 2. William de Percy, 3. Walter Fitz-Richard. The second gave lands at Dunsley to Whitby Abbey. Ralph de Grendal was father of Ralph, both living at the foundation of Bridlington Priory. Walter, their younger brother, succeeded, and, 1165, with his uncle William de Percy, held a knight’s fee from William, son of Alan de Percy 6. From Walter de Grendale descended the Grindales of the North, of whom Walter de Grendale was returned in 1300 as possessing an estate above 40 l. per annum. in York, &c., and was summoned by writ for military service in Scotland, and in 1312 was summoned by writ to the Parliament of York as a Baron of the realm. " 7

"Grindel and Grendel were Anglo-Saxon personal names [cp. Old English (poet.) grindel, a bar, bolt] Grendel was the name of the ogre killed by Beówulf: Wæs se grimma gæst The grim guest was Grendel háten." 8

Early Origins of the Grendel family

The surname Grendel was first found in Worcestershire where Ædricus Grendel was listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1180. In Yorkshire, Robert de Grenedala was listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1166 and later, Walter de Grendale was found in the Feet of Fines for Lincolnshire in 1242. Stephen de Grindale was listed in the Assize Rolls for Yorkshire in 1297 and later, Benedict de Grindale was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Cumbria in 1332. Richard de Grenehull was found in Shropshire (Salop) as recorded in the Assize Rolls for 1221. 4 9

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had the following entries for the family: Roger de Grendale, Huntingdonshire; and Walter de Grendale, Yorkshire. 1

Early History of the Grendel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Grendel research. Another 113 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1179, 1510, 1519, 1536, 1538, 1541, 1544, 1548, 1549, 1559, 1583 and 1600 are included under the topic Early Grendel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Grendel Spelling Variations

Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Grendall, Grendale, Grendle and others.

Early Notables of the Grendel family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Edmund Grindall (1519?-1583), Archbishop of Canterbury, "the son of William Grindal, a well-to-do farmer who lived at Hensingham, in the parish of St. Bees, Cumberland, a district which Grindal himself described as 'the ignorantest part in religion, and most oppressed of covetous landlords of anyone part of this realm'. He went at an early age to Cambridge, where he entered first at Magdalene College, and then removed to Christ's College where he was scholar in 1536-7, and afterwards to Pembroke Hall, where he took his B.A. degree in 1538, and in the same...
Another 181 words (13 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Grendel Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Grendel family

Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, traveling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Grendel or a variant listed above: the name represented in many forms and recorded from the mid 17th century in the great migration from Europe. Migrants settled in the eastern seaboard from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands..

Contemporary Notables of the name Grendel (post 1700) +

Erik Grendel (b. 1988), Slovak footballer who plays for FK Železiarne Podbrezová as a midfielder

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Liber Niger Scutarii ("Black Book of the Exchequer"), containing reports by county on feudal holdings in England in 1166 (reign of Henry II)
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print